


Agent Theta

by SerenitysSwirl



Series: AIAU [1]
Category: Red vs. Blue
Genre: Alternate Universe - Artificial Intelligence, Alternate Universe - Human, Blood, Guns, In a world where AIs are Freelancers and Freelancers are AIs..., Project Freelancer, Theta is still a cutie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-11
Updated: 2015-10-11
Packaged: 2018-04-25 20:25:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,231
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4975318
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SerenitysSwirl/pseuds/SerenitysSwirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Agent Theta, the youngest member of Project Freelancer, has finally received his AI unit. He really did luck out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Agent Theta

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not really sure if I'm going to write more for this AU, but I liked the idea and actually finished it so yeah. Also...the ending is a little shitty considering I'm not even sure if I'll make more, but... *throws smoke bomb!*
> 
> [Note: This AU has changed a lot since I wrote this fic, so any stories you read after this one may contradict things you read here!]

“Agent Theta. How are you feeling?”

Theta opens his eyes, confused as he’s greeted with the brightness of the infirmary ceiling. Squinting, he slowly drags himself up until his back is resting upright with the headboard of the bed. He brushes the platinum hair out of his face, glancing around the room in a daze. Theta grins when he spots the soldier in emerald armor standing off to the side.

“Hi, Delta! I...think I feel okay. It’s kind of hard to tell,” Theta says, furrowing his brow. His brain felt heavier, like he had an extra passenger up there. The feeling was not unpleasant. In fact, it was almost soothing. “I guess I have it now? The AI?”

Delta nods. “Yes. You should be able to detect a presence in your mind. It will take a little getting used to, but the two of you will be communicating efficiently and working together in no time, I am sure,” he reassures. The other Freelancer always looked near-expressionless, but Theta was glad he was there with him to explain what was going on. None of the others seemed to take Theta very seriously because of his young age. Delta, however, was aware that they had all been selected for a reason, so he found no sense in treating Theta like he was a child. At least, that’s what he’d said when Theta had asked him.

“Cool,” Theta murmurs. He searches his mind, latching onto the other persona and tugging it to his consciousness. “North Dakota?” he asks. “Can I see you now?”

There’s a flash of purple and green, and then a small, armored soldier appears in front of Theta. “Hello, Agent Theta,” the AI says kindly.

“Um…” Theta blushes, shy all of a sudden. He fidgets in his seat, heterochromic brown and blue eyes darting around the room as he tries to think of something to say.

Delta explains on Theta’s behalf. “Agent Theta was nervous about receiving his AI, despite my reasoning that the implantations have been one hundred percent successful with all of the agents who have gone through with it.” Theta stays quiet, embarrassment flaring.

“It’s okay to be nervous,” North Dakota says with a roll of his shoulders. “I look forward to working with you, Theta.”

With a hesitant smile, Theta finally looks back at his AI. “Yeah, me too.”

Delta nods. “Well, I should leave you two to become familiar with each other,” he says. “It is against protocol, but maybe we could allow North Dakota to meet New York later, if only for a few minutes.”

“Uh, sure!” Theta says, beginning to feel comfortable again. “See you later, Delta!”

With that, the other Freelancer turns and exits the room, leaving Theta to turn back to his AI. After a few beats of silence, North Dakota speaks. “You can call me North if you want. My whole name is a bit of a mouthful, isn’t it?”

Theta giggles. “Yeah. Everyone uses nicknames for their AIs except for Delta. York always pretends to get mad about it, but I don’t think he really cares.”

“Sounds like a troublemaker. I guess I’ll find out when we see them later,” North says, amused.

Theta shifts so that his feet were planted on the ground. Any of the disorientation he had when he woke up was gone, replaced by an encouraging feeling. Although they’d only just met, Theta trusted North more than he trusted most of the other Freelancers. It usually took more for Theta to become used to other people. Maybe it was because North was now a part of his mind, or maybe it was North’s patient and friendly voice, but Theta was able to wipe away any lingering nervousness.

“Agent Theta...you’re awake.”

Theta snaps his gaze up to see the Counselor standing in the doorway. “Oh! Hi, Counselor,” he says.

The Counselor walks inside, arms held tightly behind his back. He steps up beside Theta’s bed and tilts his head toward the glowing AI. “I see you’ve had time to become comfortable with North Dakota. I trust you are feeling...normal?”

Theta nods, picking up his blue helmet with orange trimming from the ground where it had been left for him and holding it tightly in his lap. “Yeah. It was a little weird at first, but I think I’m starting to get used to it.”

“Good,” the Counselor says. He stops to study the Freelancer, analytical eyes showing no emotion, lips quirked slightly upward. Although he was mild-mannered and nice enough, there was something about the Counselor that unsettled Theta. The Counselor straightens up. If he’d discovered anything in his survey of Theta, he doesn’t say so. “Once you are done here, you need to report to the training room floor so that the Director can make her observations.” He turns once Theta nods again, leaving as quickly as he came.

“You okay?” North asks.

Theta shrugs, lifting his helmet and tugging it onto his head. “Yeah. The Counselor is just kind of...strange.”

“He looks like he means well.” North faces forward as Theta stands and walks out of the infirmary. “What do we need to do on the training floor?”

Theta wanders down the hallway with a bounce in his step, taking his time as they head toward their destination. “Every time someone gets their AI, they have to go in front of the Director and show how they work together. Then, before our first mission, we’ll have to do it again to show we’ve made improvements! Usually agents don’t have to go to the training floor right after implantation, though...I guess the Director really wants to see what we can do.”

North hums in agreement, going silent as they pass a small group of Freelancers. Theta gives a shy wave as they pass. Sigma waves back, a smirk cutting across his dark, unhelmeted face. “Hello, Theta,” he says, causing the entire group to glance Theta’s way. “Congratulations on finally receiving your AI. I’d keep an eye out for Omega; you know how jealous he can get.”

“Thanks,” Theta says, forcing a smile despite the fact it couldn’t be seen. He tries to walk past, but Sigma stops him again.

“Where are you going in such a hurry? Won’t you introduce us?”

Gamma, Eta, and Iota, standing nearby, lean forward in anticipation. Both Sigma and Gamma had already gotten their AIs a while ago, but the twins were still awaiting news about their own. “Uh...um,” Theta stammers, not liking that the spotlight was suddenly on him.

“Theta and I are needed in the training room,” a voice chimes in from Theta’s left. North had materialized, hovering in air and casting his light on the gray walls. “We’re on a tight schedule, so we’ll have to say our hellos some other time.”

Taking in a relieved breath, Theta nods in confirmation. “Yeah, sorry guys. North and I have to go!”

Sigma raises an eyebrow. “Really? Well, we do have an observation deck. I’d like to watch you two have your first training session.”

“You should meet us there, then,” North says, polite, but short. “Let’s go, Theta.”

“Y-yeah,” Theta stutters, relieved to have an excuse to leave. “See you all later!” With another wave, he hurries off down the hallway, boots clunking loudly against the metal ground as he retreats. He rounds a corner and huffs in a breath, pausing. A few moments pass as Theta feels his heart slow to its normal pace.

“Do you not like the other Freelancers?” North asks, reappearing in front of Theta.

“No,” Theta says, nervously rubbing at his chestplate. “I do, I guess, but...Sigma...”

“He _is_ pretty forward.”

Theta makes a small, agreeable sound, continuing on his way. “I don’t...want to talk about this right now. We should get to our training.”

“I understand. We should be getting in the zone, right?” North says with humor, dissipating into thin air.

A small laugh bubbling up in Theta’s throat, he picks up their pace, rounding a few more corners before stopping at the doors to the training room. He steps up to the doors, waiting for them to automatically slide open before bounding inside. No one was there yet, so he’s greeted with a calming, quiet atmosphere. Theta spares a glance back at the blue scoreboard as he nears the entrance for the observation deck. Gamma was first on the board, followed by Delta and Epsilon. Theta was pretty far behind, but he hoped that, with the help of North, he’d be able to get a boost.

Theta enters the observation deck and turns towards the stairs. He heads down, reaching the floor of the enclosed training room and stepping out into the bright stage. The Director and the Counselor must have entered behind Theta, because the Counselor’s voice booms from the speakers in the ceiling, causing Theta to jump. “Hello, Agent Theta. You are here to commence your first training session with AI unit North Dakota.”

A glance up reveals some of the other Freelancers gathered around the observation deck window. Theta spots Delta amongst them and he can’t hold back the anxious wave he sends him.

“Are you ready to begin?” the Counselor asks.

“Yes, sir,” Theta says, standing up straight with false confidence.

“Alright.”

There’s a pause as a series of guns slide out from resting places hidden in the walls, their mechanical clicking ringing through the air as they settle in place, all focused on Theta. North assembles next to him before the Counselor speaks again.

“You will be using your armor’s shield capabilities to block enemy fire. To complete the task, you must shoot out each of the guns...You may want to go get a weapon.”

It was only then that Theta realizes his hands were empty. He hadn’t seen his gun since he’d went in for implantation. “Oh!” he exclaims, ignoring chuckles from above as he hurries to the rack to his right and grabs a gun, settling it in his grasp and hustling back to the center of the floor. “Ready!” he calls.

Theta’s suit hums to life, a dome-like force field protecting the area around him. He feels North’s presence next to him. It was strong and trusting and caused Theta to jolt with _real_ confidence. “I can give you openings to shoot the guns,” North says. “All you need to do is be ready for it and communicate, alright?”

Theta lifts his gun with a brisk nod. “Got it!”

Phyllis begins a countdown over the speakers and Theta gulps heavily. “Commencing training session in five...four...three...two...one...begin.”

Each of the guns in the wall start firing, shocking Theta out of his stance and confusing him. The shield blocks the bullets and Theta takes a moment to look around, unsure of where to start.

“How about the one in front of us and to the right?” North suggests as he projects himself near the edge of the shield and gestures at the gun. “On your count.”

“Um, okay!” Theta says, aiming at their target. “Ready...Set...Go!”

Theta shoots, and the force field opens perfectly to allow his bullet to zip through, closing up behind it just as quickly. The gun on the wall collapses and Theta lets out a cheer. North chuckles warmly, transferring to a different target.

One, two, three more guns are disabled, and Theta’s heart soars. His work was a little sloppy so far, but he thought they were doing well for a first attempt.

“You know the drill,” North says. Theta didn’t know how emotions worked for AIs, but North sounded almost like he was enjoying himself. Theta smiles, aiming at the next target.

“Ready, set, go!”

It was so fast that it takes Theta a few seconds to realize what happened. North had been unable to remove the shield in time, causing the bullet to bounce back and bury itself into Theta’s arm. A splash of blood drips down onto the floor and Theta gasps. He hears North’s voice in his head, but he can’t sort out the meaning, instead falling to his knees in pain.

A voice reverberates around Theta’s ears, coming from the speakers overhead and he winces, clutching the bullet wound, only able to see spots of light on the back of his eyelids. He feels nauseous and in shock, unable to stand. Hands force Theta up and the world fades to black.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Don’t you think that was a little...questionable?”

The Director doesn’t look up from her screen, eyes scanning the data in front of her. “The work we’re doing here has a greater purpose. What happened to Theta was unfortunate, but we learned from it. He should recover soon.”

The Counselor goes silent, thinking to himself. After a second, he speaks again. “Agent Theta and North Dakota are a good match, don’t you think?”

“Yes,” the Director agrees, reading over an electronic document. “Our youngest fighter...Do we have an AI prepared for Eta yet?”

“Carolina is ready to be installed.”

“Nice. You’ll need to start tracking the mental effects this has on Iota soon.”

“Yes ma’am.”

The Director smiles, raising her stylus to the board in front of her. Placing the pen on the screen, her hand moves in a flourish, a signature blossoming from the tip: “Dr. Allison Church.”


End file.
